Variable width scriber

ABSTRACT

A variable width scriber for providing a scribe mark at a selected distance from another surface. The scriber has a stem member which is eccentrically secured to a hoop and engages a marker or scribe. The stem member is of smaller width than the hoop so that upon rotation of the stem member, the hoop will space the scribe a desired distance from a surface and can be slid along the surface to cause the scribe to mark a line at the selected distance.

United States Patent [191 Glasgow VARIABLE WIDTH SCRIBER [76] Inventor: Roger D. Glasgow, Box 298, Apple Creek, Ohio 44606 [22] Filed: Feb. 12, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 331,618

[52] US. Cl 33/41 F, 33/27 C [51] Int. Cl B431 13/02 [58] Field of Search 33/27 C, 41, 42, 32

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,717,013 9/1955 Van Zwalenburg 33/41 R 3,245,146 4/1966 Rogers 33/41 F 2,212,703 8/1940 Suffich... 33/41 E 750,221 l/1904 Reis 33/42 3,002,280 10/1961 Bennett 33/27 C FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 416,810 8/1925 Germany 33/41 F [4 1 Apr. 23, 1974 Primary Examiner-Harry N. Haroian [57] ABSTRACT A variable width scriber for providing a scribe mark at a selected distance from another surface. The scriber has a stem member which is eccentrically secured to a hoop and engages a marker or scribe. The stem member is of smaller width than the hoop so that upon rotation of the stem member, the hoop will space the scribe a desired distance from a surface and can be slid along the surface to cause the scribe to mark a line at the selected distance.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures F,+Y[ENTEHAP&23 5974 FIG. I

FIG.

FIG. 6

FIG. 5

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a scriber. More specifically, the present invention relates to a variable width scriber for marking a line at various selective distances from a surface.

Heretofore, in the field of carpentry and sheet metal fabrication, the prevalent practice of fitting a member to a surface has been to use a scribe in association with dividers. For example, in fitting a board to a wall or frame, one leg of the divider would be slid along the surface while the other leg, which preferably contained a pencil, would be slid over the board to scribe or mark a line parallel to the surface. In such manner, a board or similar membercould be fitted to a non-plumb or irregular or uneven surface.

However, often a divider'was not handy, was easily misplaced or when available, was readily subject to abuse and breakage. Moreover, with the use of dividers, it was generally difficult to obtain a good fit between the member of the surface, the primary reason being that it was difficult to maintain the legs of the dividers at a specific set distance during the scribing operation. This problem was further aggravated in situations wherein one or both surfaces or walls were irregular as when made of brick, mortar, or stone or where intricate fittings were required. To obtain a good fit generally was difficult and furthermore required painstaking care as well as precious time which greatly increased labor costs. Hence, often a rough fitting was made and filled with wood putty or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel scriber which can mark lines at a plurality of selected variable distances from a surface.

It is a further'object of the present invention to pro vide a scriber, as above, which is calibrated to mark a line at a desired distance from a surface.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a scriber, as above, which is sturdy, easily made and inexpensively produced. i

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a scriber gauge, as above, which fits on an ordi- 1 nary pencil and is readily carried in a persons pocket.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a scriber, as above, which can be used as a compass.

These and other objects of the present invention, together with the advantages thereof over existing and prior art forms which will become more apparent from the following specification, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

In general, a selective variable scriber has a tubular stem for engaging over a pencil scribe. A hoop of greater width is eccentrically secured to the stem and contacts a surface at any degree of rotation enabling the marker upon sliding of the hoop along the surface to mark a line at a selective distance from the surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a scriber according to the concept of the present invention showing a pencil scribe in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view taken on line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a scriber which has apertures in the hoop to enable the scriber to be used as a compass.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a scriber wherein the hoop has a continuous leaf spring.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In general, a scriber for marking a line according to the concept of the present invention is indicated in FIG. 1, generally by the numeral 10. The scriber preferably comprises a tubular stem 11 eccentrically secured to hoop 12 having a much larger width and both items may be made from conventional metals or plastics. Hoop 12 generally is circular although it can be spiral, parabolic or the like. Stem 11 may be secured to hoop 12 in any conventional manner such as by solder or by an adhesive 13 or preferably may be molded in one piece. Generally, the stem is cylindrical in shape and preferably of much greater length than hoop 12. The diameter of stem 11 may be made to frictionally engage a standard sized scribe or marker 14. Moreover, the stem diameter may be of a specific size and utilize a fastening member such as a set screw (not shown) to firmly engage and maintain marker 14 within the stem. Another manner by which a marker may be firmly engaged within the stem is by utilizing at least one leaf spring (not shown) mounted on the inside of the stem in accordance with any conventional manner. In order that the scriber may be conveniently carried in a persons pocket, a conventional clip (not shown) may be attached to stem portion 11.

Scribe 14 shown in phantom in FIG. 1 may be made of metal or any other hard material so long as it is able to scratch or imprint a mark on the item to be cut according to a particular shape and installed. The scribe preferably may be a pencil since they are generally carried by workmen unlike metal scribes or markers and are a convenient means by which to mark a line. Regardless of the type of scribe, the scribing distance is that distance from scribe tip 15 to the particular spot on the outer edge of the hoop which is slid along a surface. Thus, the scribing distance will vary from a minimum on a spot of the hoop adjacent to the stem to a maximum on a spot of the hoop opposite said stem. In order to facilitate the marking of a line at a selected and specific distance from a surface, the hoop may be calibrated and the distance from the surface at the stem to a particular hoop spot imprinted on the side of the hoop. Such imprinting or other indicia aids in maintaining an exact spot of the hoop on the surface, when slid along the surface. Another manner by which the scribing distance can be indicatedis to utilize a calibrated and marked disc (not shown) which fits onto the hoop.

Often, it may be desirable to mark a line in very close proximity to a surface. In such a situation, the scribe tip 15 may be offset from the axis of the stem in the direction toward the adjacent side of the hoop. Other forms could include a dog-leg tip or simply an offset center.

Thus, the exact location of tip may form a locus for the particular location being preferable for various types of applications.

In addition to stem 11 grasping and engaging scribe 14, a stem extension 16 as shown in FIG. 4 may extend from the stem to grasp and maintain scribe tip 15 in an exact extended position beyond the hoop 12. Stem extension 16 may be a tapered or conical integral part of the stem to fit an ordinary pencil tip or may be made to fit an offset tip.

Scriber 10 may be used to fit a member to a surface. In this situation, the hoop is rotated until the scriber is spaced at a desired distance from the surface. Upon sliding of the hoop along the surface, a line will be marked by the scribe which is parallel to the surface. Additionally, the scriber can be used whenever a board or piece of sheet metal is to be installed between two sidewalls and adjacent to a recessed third wall. In such a situation, a length of material, for example a board, which is slightly longer than the distance between the two sidewalls, is inserted adjacent to the third wall against the surface of a single sidewall. The scriber 10 containing a scribe 14 such as a pencil is then rotated to give any desirable and selected scribing distance and scriber 10 is then slid along the surface to mark a line on the board parallel to the surface. The edge of the board is then cut along the marked line. Next, the shortest approximate distance between the two sidewalls where the board is to be inserted is then measured and the measured distance from the corresponding point on the cut board end is then marked as a reference point on the remaining end of the board. The remaining board end is now inserted adjacent to the third wall against the other sidewall and the scribe distance is selected by rotating the scribe until the scribe distance is equal to the distance from the sidewall to the reference point. Depending upon the extra length of the board in excess of the distance between the two sidewalls, the selected scribe distance will vary. The remaining end of the board is then marked with a line by the scriber and cut. The resulting board will fit snugly between the two sidewalls adjacent to the third wall and the ends of the board will be contoured exactly to the sidewalls. The advantages are even more apparent when one or both sidewalls have an irregular surface such as brick or stone.

Although the above description clearly sets forth various embodiments of the scriber, the scriber can be modified to serve as a compass. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, hoop 12 may be of sufficient thickness so that a plurality of holes 21 may be drilled and a centering pin 22 inserted through any one of the holes. Since the holes may be drilled at calibrated distances and marked, scriber 10 may be rotated about pin 22 to cause scribe 14 to mark or draw a plurality of circles having various diameters.

Another manner by which the scriber may be modified to produce a compass is shown in FIG. 6. In this embodiment, a thin flexible spring hoop 25 is positioned adjacent to and within hoop 12 and is secured at either end as by solder or by an adhesive to stem 1 1. Moreover, spring 25 may be endless and simply secured to hoop 12 at the same point and in the same manner the stem is secured to the hoop. In order to draw a circle, a pin or the like is inserted between hoop l2 and leaf spring 25 and the scriber is then rotated about the pin to draw through scribe 14 a circle. The resilience of the spring hoop will create sufficient frictional engagement to maintain the pin in a specific spot. As before, the hoop may be calibrated and marked so that circles of various diameters may be selected and drawn. In order to prevent the spring hoop from sagging and to maintain alignment, a tab 26 may be provided to attach the spring hoop to the edge of outer hoop 12.

It can be seen that the specification carries out the objects of the invention set forth above and that upon rotation of the hoop, a selective scribe distance can be chosen. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention herein described and disclosed, the scope of the invention being limited solely by the scope of the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A variable distance scriber containing a scribe for marking a line at a selective distance from a surface, comprising a stem means for detachably holding the scribe, a circular hoop, said stem means being of smaller width than the diameter of said hoop, and said stem means secured directly to said hoop eccentrically thereof so that by rotating the hoop with respect to a reference surface the scribe can be located at a selected distance therefrom to mark a line parallel thereto as the hoop is slid along said surface.

2. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said stem means extends above said hoop and is secured to the inside of said hoop.

3. A variable distance scriber, as in claim I, wherein said stem means is cylindrical and said hoop is calibrated to indicate the scribe distance from a reference surface.

4. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said stem means has a tapered extension below the hoop to engage the scribe.

5. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 4, wherein said stem means for holding the scribe has a cylindrical extension above the hoop.

6. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said hoop has a plurality of apertures and a centering pin is engageable selectively in said apertures so that a plurality of various sized circles can be made by the scribe.

7. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein an inner spring hoop is adjacent to said hoop and is secured to said stem and a centering pin is engageable selectively in different positions between said hoop and said spring hoop so that a plurality of various sized circles can be made by the scribe. 

1. A variable distance scriber containing a scribe for marking a line at a selective distance from a surface, comprising a stem means for detachably holding the scribe, a circular hoop, said stem means being of smaller width than the diameter of said hoop, and said stem means secured directly to said hoop eccentrically thereof so that by rotating the Hoop with respect to a reference surface the scribe can be located at a selected distance therefrom to mark a line parallel thereto as the hoop is slid along said surface.
 2. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said stem means extends above said hoop and is secured to the inside of said hoop.
 3. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said stem means is cylindrical and said hoop is calibrated to indicate the scribe distance from a reference surface.
 4. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said stem means has a tapered extension below the hoop to engage the scribe.
 5. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 4, wherein said stem means for holding the scribe has a cylindrical extension above the hoop.
 6. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein said hoop has a plurality of apertures and a centering pin is engageable selectively in said apertures so that a plurality of various sized circles can be made by the scribe.
 7. A variable distance scriber, as in claim 1, wherein an inner spring hoop is adjacent to said hoop and is secured to said stem and a centering pin is engageable selectively in different positions between said hoop and said spring hoop so that a plurality of various sized circles can be made by the scribe. 